Skull and Bones is an action game where you play a pirate captain in the 17^th century Indian Ocean. You complete missions alone or with other players and grow your fleet on a quest to become the most infamous on the seven seas. It's the way it combines classic pirate adventures with strategic fights and a wide array of customisable ships that sets players telling their own creative pirate stories and battles.

You play a pirate outcast who washes up on Saint Anne, a safe haven pirate island. From here, you craft ships and equipment, recruit a crew and set out on missions set by the islands' inhabitants. You need to pay close attention to your crew, who mutiny if not happy. You must also be mindful of your ship's configuration as you can easily find yourself unprepared to deal with the deadly storms or fleets of warships that prowl the seas.

Play revolves around missions to gather items or fight other computer-controlled ships for loot. Completion rewards you with currency and resources you can use to craft new ships for your fleet, as well as equipment you can apply to your existing ships when you next set sail. In addition, you can scour the coastlines and collect the resources and items you find there, such as timber from trees or the hides and meat of animals. You can encounter other players as you explore, who you can team up with to complete missions or fight against for their resources.

Combat involves issuing commands to your individual crew members, to man cannons, attack using other weapons, or defend your ship. Although it's fast-paced, you still need to employ creative strategies, especially when facing off against larger groups of enemies or coastal settlements with strong defences. There are many different classes of ships, each with their own benefits and drawbacks, and choosing the correct type of ship with the necessary configuration of weapons and defences for each job is another essential part of the game.

The result is a game that combines the charm and fantasy of classic pirate adventures with deep and thoughtful strategy through its tactical combat, expansive and resource-rich world and assortment of customisable ships you can really make your own.